[Elecraft] No more CW requirement in Canada starting today.

[JEAN-FRANCOIS MENARD]

**Industry Canada Introduces Alternatives to Morse Requirement for HF**

In July 2003, the World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC) 2003 held  
by the ITU in Geneva, Switzerland, deleted the mandatory  
international requirement for proficiency in Morse for access to the  
HF bands below 30 MHz. The revised International Radio Regulations  
leave it up to individual administrations to decide whether to retain  
or delete Morse as a national requirement. Since July 2003, more than  
25 administrations have deleted the Morse requirement for HF access.

Immediately following WRC-2003, RAC conducted an Internet survey of  
Canadian amateurs on whether Canada should retain or delete Morse.  
66% of the statistically significant response of more than 1300  
Canadian amateurs either recommended deleting, or would accept  
deleting, the mandatory Morse qualification, but also recommended  
other changes. This resulted in discussions between RAC and Industry  
Canada, following which RAC formally submitted a proposal to the  
Department recommending, among other things, that the mandatory Morse  
Qualification be deleted but also that it be retained as a voluntary  
qualification for reciprocal operations in countries that have not  
deleted the Morse requirement.

  Per Canada Gazette Notice DGRB-003-05 dated 30 July 2005, Industry  
Canada has adopted elements of the RAC "Proposal on Morse Code and  
Related Matters" and has removed the mandatory requirement for the  
Morse Qualification for access to the HF bands below 30 MHz.

  Effective immediately, HF operation on the bands below 30 MHz has  
been authorized by Industry Canada for:

a)                  amateurs who were certified with only the BASIC  
Qualification prior to 2 April 2002;
b)                  amateurs who have been certified with both BASIC  
and ADVANCED Qualifications;
c)                   amateurs with only the BASIC Qualification who  
were certified after 1 April 2002, and who achieved a pass mark of  
80% or greater;

  Those amateurs with only the BASIC Qualification who were certified  
after 1 April 2002, but who achieved less than an 80% pass mark, will  
either have to qualify in Morse, write the Advanced or re-write the  
Basic examination to obtain HF privileges. This latter requirement is  
related to a decision to increase the BASIC examination pass mark to  
ensure that candidates have been tested in all areas of the syllabus.  
Amateurs who need to confirm their examination marks should contact  
their Accredited Examiner. Accredited Examiners are required to  
retain marks for at least three years.

Also effective immediately, the pass mark for the BASIC Qualification  
has been raised from 60% to 70%.

  Amateurs wishing to have their certificates annotated with a Morse  
Qualification may still do so by passing the Morse examination at 5  
Words Per Minute.

  Holders of only the BASIC Qualification may now construct, install  
and operate transmitters from kits that have been commercially  
designed and packaged. BASIC-only holders still are not authorized to  
modify or install and operate modified commercially manufactured  
equipment.

The above changes and others have been incorporated in revised RICs 2  
and 3. All amateurs should review and keep on hand these revised  
documents.

  RIC-2, Issue 5, dated July 2005, Standards for the Operation of  
Radio Stations in the Amateur Radio Service, is available at: http:// 
strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insmt-gst.nsf/en/sf05478e.html

RIC-3, Issue 2, dated July 2005, Information on the Amateur Radio  
Service, is available at: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/ 
insmt-gst.nsf/en/sf05478e.html


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Jean-François Ménard / VA2VYZ

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